Cuttings remediation is not a new concept in and of itself, various attempts at processing and reinjecting ground cuttings having been tried over the years, yet remediation has only relatively recently been considered a requisite in petroleum exploration, with recognition of the adverse environmental impact of dumped drill cuttings and drilling mud upon environment.
There are two options for disposal other than dumping, which is not environmentally sound and may be illegal in some jurisdictions, namely 1) dumping of the cuttings at a landfill, or 2) reinjection of the cuttings into the well. While drill cuttings are disposed of at designated low hazardous waste landfills, the costs of transportation and disposal are generally prohibitive, especially when the drilling occurs in remote areas.
There is, therefore, a more urgent need than ever for an efficient cuttings remediation system which reintroduces processed cuttings into the well.
A list of patents which may have some pertinence to the present invention include:
U.S. Pat. No. Inventor Date of Issue Grinders/pulverizers: 5400977 Hayles, Jr. 03/28/1995 3993254 Bicik et al 11/23/1976 3957210 Durr 05/18/1976 2991947 Schuyler 07/11/1961 1038886 Hirt 09/17/1912 666404 Wurster 01/22/1901 500582 Jones 07/04/1893 410247 Kimble 09/03/1889 345408 Birge 07/13/1886 Cuttings Processing: 5405223 Sirevag 05/11/1995 5303786 Prestridge et al 04/19/1994 5294061 Van Dijk 03/15/1994 4544032 Echols 10/01/1985 4480702 Keily, Jr. 11/06/1984 4222988 Barthel 09/16/1980
U.S. Pat. No. 1,038,886 issued 1912 teaches a "pulverizer" including a shaft on a horizontal axis having multiple rotors emanating therefrom, the system further surrounded by a cylindrical housing having inner walls having "perforations" situated near the tips of the rotors, each tip further including a "beater".
U.S. Pat. No. 410,247 issued 1889 teaches an "apparatus for atomizing solid substances" including first and second, horizontally situated shafts having multiple, intermeshing rotors emanating therefrom. See also U.S. Pat. Nos. 500, 582, 345,408, 666,404 and 5,400,977.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,222,988 issued 1980 teaches an "apparatus for removing hydrocarbons from drill cuttings" including milling means in the form of a horizontal shaft (19) having a plurality of rotors emanating therefrom (17, 20), the ends of the rotors in close proximity to a cylindrical housing (FIG. 3). U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,480,702, 5,405,223, 4,544,032, 5,303,032, and 5,294,061 teach drill cuttings processing apparatus; see FIG. 2 of the '061 patent, which teaches a mill including a rotating shaft having rotors for milling the cuttings, enclosed within a cylindrical housing.
While the above cited prior art teachings teach rotor mills having some similarities when compared to the present invention, none teach the improvements disclosed, nor the operating configuration of the present system. It is averred that prior art drill cuttings remediation systems have traditionally been either expensive to implement, or ineffective in real world operations, requiring continual maintenance and operational supervision, as well as monitoring to prevent clogging or jamming of the unit.